Pilot or guard for locomotives and cars



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet l.

R. A. CRAWFORD. PILOT OR GUARD FOR LOCOMOTIVES AND CARS.

No. 480,713. Patented Aug. 1 6. 1892.

WITNESSES:

63w. Om @LQM (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

R. A. CRAWFORD. PILOT OR GUARD FOR LOCOMOTIVES AND CARS.

No. 480,713. Patented Aug. 16, 1892.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT A. CRAIVFORD, OF ALLEGHENY, PENNSYLVANIA.

PILOT OR GUARD FOR LOCOMOTIVES AND CARS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 480,713, dated August16, 1892. Application filed August 17, 1891. Serial No. 402,864. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT A. CRAWFORD, a resident of Allegheny, in thecounty of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new anduseful Improvement in Pilots or Guards for Locomotives and Cars; and Ido hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription thereof.

My invention relates to pilots or safetyguards for use on locomotivesand all kinds of traction-cars, such as electric and cable.

Many fatal and serious accidents occur in the thoroughfares of largecities where traction-cars are in operation by persons being overtakenby the cars and when struck falling so as to be dragged beneath the carand badly mutilated.

The object of my invention is to provide a pilot or safety-guard whichwill act to lower itself automatically when it comes in contact with aperson or other obstacle in its path, and thereby prevent thepossibility of the person or obstacle of whatever nature being draggedbeneath the body of the car, While to run clear of small stones orobstacles over which the car can pass without interference.

To these ends my invention consists, generally stated, in a pilot orsafety-guard having rods pivoted at their forward ends to said pilot orguard, the rear ends of said rods resting in suitable supports, andsprings interposed between shoulders on said rods and said supports,whereby upon coming in contact with an obstacle said pilot or guard isautomatically lowered.

It further consists in a pilot suitably pivoted to the body of the carand a second or supplementary pilot or fender pivoted at the forward endof the main pilot, both pilots being provided with spring-actuated rods,whereby upon the supplementary pilot coming in contact with an obstacleboth pilots will be antomatically deflected toward the level of thetrack.

Itfurther consists in certain details and novel combinationsof parts,all of which will be more fully hereinafter set forth and claimed.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I willdescribe the same more fully, referring to the accompanying drawings, inwhich Figure 1 is a view of the front portion of a car with myimproveddevice applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a plan View, and Fig. 3 aview of oneof the bars of which the supplementary pilot is composed and the mannerof connecting it to the spiral coil.

Like letters indicate like parts.

As stated, my invention is applicable for locomotives and traction-carsof all kinds; but for convenience of illustration I will describe andillustrate itin connection with a tractioncar.

In the drawings, Fig. 1. illustrates the forward end of a traction-cara, mounted on a truck I) in the ordinary manner. Secured to this truckI) is the main pilot or guard c. This pilot or guard a may beconstructed in any suitable manner, the one shown being constructed ofangle-iron and consisting of the curved parallel bars d, secured to thecrossshaft e and connected at their front and rear ends by thecross-bars (1' d respectively. The bars d being curved,the pilot 0 asthus con- -,.stru cted will present a receptacle capable of in itsnormal position it is sufliciently elevated receiving and supporting thebody of a person.

' The pilotc is secured to the truck I) by means of the extension-boltsf, having the loops or rings f at their forward ends, through which thecross-shaft 6 passes and is adapted to turn therein. The extension-boltsf are secured to the truck I) by means of eyebolts g, the nuts f 2serving to retain the said extension-bolts f rigidly in place. Anysuitable number of extension-bolts f maybe employed, as may be foundnecessary. At the forward end of the main pilot 0 is pivoted asupplementary pilot or guard h. This supplementary pilot h is composedof the parallel bars h, pivoted at h to the several parallel bars (1 ofthe main pilot 0. The forward ends of said bars 71. are provided withnotches hiwith which the wires of a spiral spring'i engage and whichsupport said spiral spring. Any other convenient manner of connectingthe bars h to the spiral coil may, however, be employed. The coils ofthe spring 1; are formed of wire or other suitable spring metal withsufficient resiliency to prevent injury to the body of the person withwhom it may come in contact. The supplementary guard h is held in aninclined position with reference to the track 3' by means of the boltsor rods 70. These bolts k are pivoted to the parallel bars h at k nearthe forward ends thereof, while the rear ends of said bolts pass throughsuitable openings formed to receive them in the depending flange Z ofthe cross-bar Z, secured to the main pilot 0. The bolts to are providedwith collars I0 and spiral springs m, encircling the bolts 70, areinterposed between the said collars k and the flange Z of the cross-barZ. Nuts 40. engage with the threaded ends of the bolts it beyond theflange Z, so that by tightening the nuts n the tension of the springs wemay be increased, as well as the inclination of the supplementary guardh. The main pilot 0 is likewise provided with a series of bolts 0,pivoted at their forward ends to the bars d of the main pilot 0, therear ends of said bolts 0 passing through eyebolts secured to the truckI). Springs 0' are interposed between collars 0 on the said bolts andthe eyebolts p. Thebolts 0 extend rearwardly beyond the eyebolts p, andsprings p are likewise interposed between said eyeboltsp and nuts p onthe rear ends of said bolts 0. At or about the center of the cross-shafte is secured the lever q, and connecting with the rear end of said leveris the link 1-, passing up through an opening rin the floor of the car.The upper end of the link 0" is connected to the footlever s, pivoted inthe standard .9. The link 9' is connected to the foot-lever s at such apoint that by the motor-man applying his foot to the rear end of thefoot-lever s the main pilot 0, together with the supplementary pilot h,will be lowered closer to the level of the track, while by applying hisfoot to the forward end of said foot-lever s a contrary action will takeplace.

The main pilot 0 and the supplementary pilot it are covered withwire-nettingt or other suitable material capable of supporting the bodyof a person falling therein.

Any suitable means other than those shown and described for securing theseveral parts of the apparatus in position may be included within thescope of my invention, and I do not confine myself to the double form ofguard shown, as I may use only one, or I may apply one to the forwardend of an ordinary rigid and unyielding pilot with which many cars arealready supplied.

The operation of my improved safety attachment is as follows: The mainpilot 0 and the supplementary pilot h are first adjusted by means of thebolts 0 and k, respectively, to the desired height above the level ofthe track and generally at a height to avoid such small stones and otherobstacles over which the body of the car can pass without interference.When the car is traveling along and overtakes a person crossing in itspath, before the motor-man can stop the car the spiral spring '6,extending across the front of the supplementary pilot, will first comein contact with the body of such person. The resiliency of the spiralspring 2' will act to break the force of the blow and prevent seriousinjury to the body of the person struck. The impact imparted to thespiral spring 41 will be sufficient to overcome the resistance of thesprings m on the bolts It of the supplemental pilot h. The resistance ofsaid springs m being overcome, the said bolts It will recede, .theresult, as apparent, of such action being to further deflect thesupplementary pilot h and bring its forward endcloser to the level ofthe track. The spiral coilz' will consequently be lowered closer to thetrack, and so prevent all liability of the body of the person beingdragged under the car. The person on being struck will either fall intothe main pilot 0 upon the wire-netting or in case the person fallsforward infront of the car the motor-man can stop the car before suchperson has been seriously injured, as the pressure against the spiralcoil '5 will act to keep said coil close to the track and prevent anypossibility of the person being dragged beneath the car. As soon,however, as the obstruction has been removed the tension of the springs011. will force forward the bolts k and raise the supplementary pilot toits normal position. In this manner the supplementary pilot It will bedeflected automatically, the construction being so simple that there islittle liability of the parts getting out of order. In case'themotor-man sees the person in time to place his foot upon the rear end ofthe foot levers the main pilot 0 and the supplementary pilot It will belowered through the connections described. The action of the bolts 0 andsprings 0 of the main pilot 0 will be the same as that of the bolts andsprings 'm of the supplementary pilot h,

as just described, their function being auxiliary to that of the bolts70 and springs m.

In case it is desired to raise the double safety-guard, it is onlynecessary for the motor-man to place his foot upon the forward end ofthe foot-lever s, when the main pilot 0 and supplementary pilot 72. willbe raised, the springs p on the bolts 0 acting to bring the pilots totheir normal position when the foot of the motor-man is withdrawn fromthe foot-lever s.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

' 1. The combination, with alocomotive or car, of a pilot or guardpivoted thereto, rods pivoted at their forward ends to said pilot orguard, the rear ends of said rods resting in suitable supports, andsprings encircling said rods, said springs being interposed betweenshoulders on said rods and said supports, substantially as and for thepurposes set forth.

2. The combination, with a pilot or guard, of a supplementary pilot orguard pivoted thereto, rods pivoted to said supplementary pilot or guardand resting in suitable supports on said main pilot or guard, andsprings interposed between shoulders on said rods and said supports, andnuts engaging the inner ends of said rods, substantiallyas and for thepurposes set forth.

3. A pilot or guard for locomotives or cars, consisting of a series ofparallel bars having their inner ends pivoted to a suitable support, theouter ends of said bars engaging with a spiral coil extending across thefront of said pilot, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

4. A pilot or guard for locomotives or cars, consisting of a series ofparallel rods having their inner ends pivoted to a suitable support, theouter ends of said bars having notches formed therein adapted to engagea spiral coil extending across the front of said pilot or guard,substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

5. The combination, with a locomotive or car, of a pilot pivotedthereto, rods pivoted to said pilot and extending rearwardly throughsuitable supports on the truck of the car or carbody, and springsinterposed between shoulders on said rods and the said supports and alsobetween said supports and nuts engaging the inner ends of said rods,substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

6. The combination, with a locomotive or car, of a pilot pivotedthereto, rods pivoted to said pilot and extending rearwardly throughsuitable supports 0n the truck or car-body, springs interposed betweenshoulders on said rods and said supports andalso between said supportsand nuts engaging the inner ends of said rods, and lever connectionsbetween said pilot and a lever in the car for lowering and raising saidpilot, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

7. In combination with. a locomotive or car, a main pilot pivotedthereto, rods pivoted to said pilot and extending back through supportson the truck or car-body, springs interposed between shoulders on saidrods and said supports and also between said supports and nuts engagingthe inner ends of said rods, and a supplementary pilot or guard pivotedto said main pilot, said supplementary guard having rods pivoted theretoand said rods extending back through supports on said main pilot, andsprings interposed between shoulders on said rods and said supports, andconnections between said main pilot and a lever within the car forlowering and raising said main pilot and supplementary pilot,substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony whereof I, the said ROBERT A. CRAWFORD, have hereunto setmy hand.

ROBERT A. CRAWFORD. Witnesses:

J. RODGERS MCOREERY, RoBT. D. TOTTEN.

